Faces of Fairview #5: Emily Chinowsky

Senior Emily Chinowsky has been doing aerial dance for eight years, ever since she first attended a summer camp years ago.

“I hated summer camps, I thought they were a conspiracy to get rid of children over the summer,” Chinowsky said. “I started it, and I was like, ‘this is actually really cool,’ and I’ve been doing it ever since.”

Before being an aerial dancer, Chinowsky was a competitive dancer and gymnast, but left because she did not enjoy the competition that those sports entailed.

“I really enjoyed how [aerial dance] was unique,” Chinowsky said.

She also enjoys the climbing aspect of aerial dance.

“I still remember when I was five [years old] I figured out how to wedge myself in door frames and climb up the doorframes,” Chinowsky said. “I was always the kid running around doing that, and I really enjoyed I could still do that and climb around and be in the air.”

Frequent Flyers, where Chinowsky does aerial dance, has been a supportive community for her.

“When I was in 8th grade I was super depressed [and] had anxiety attacks all the time, and one day I came in, and [I] was falling apart, and all of my friends there picked me up [and] were very supportive,” Chinowsky said.

In addition to having a supportive community, which Chinowsky described as a “second home”, she also enjoys “getting to express [herself]” in aerial dance.

Surprisingly, however, Chinowsky said, “I’m terrified of heights.”

“For some reason, I’m ok going up in the air now, because it’s like I’m in control of myself, and I’m the one holding on,” Chinowsky said. “...If I fall it’s my fault [...] It’s something I could've controlled, not something that I’m not in control of.”

For Chinowsky, the hardest part of aerial dance is attempting new things on the various apparati.

“For me at least, when I’m first learning things, it’s terrifying, but as soon as I do it, it’s fine,” she said.

Chinowsky performs on various apparati, including static trapeze, low flying trapeze, and lira, which is essentially a suspended metal hula hoop.

Chinowsky doesn’t want her time as an aerial dancer to end upon graduation.

“I’m going to CU, so I’ll be close around,” Chinowsky said. “I’m hoping to continue it.”